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Scholar’s Scholar 2019 – Kolosa Ntombini is the Legacy!

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Meet 2019's Scholar's Scholar Kolosa Ntombini. Selected by a panel of the Alumni, the Scholar's Scholar is a prestigious scholarship given to an exceptional person who represents the values of Canon Collins Trust.

The Scholars’ Scholar Award launched in 2011, is a unique Canon Collins Scholarship funded through the efforts of the alumni, who make it possible for another to travel the same road they have. The prestigious scholarship is worth R100 000, significantly more than the value of a standard Canon Collins Scholarship. The recipient is selected because they are someone who “can meaningfully contribute to the Trust’s vision of an open and just society.

Kolosa’s interest in justice lies particularly in how South Africa solves the conflict between land rights and conservation in its Transfrontier Conservation Areas. She is pursuing a MSc in Environmental and Geographical Science, “my research interests are in the Richtersveld where the Nama, an indigenous group, faces great challenges including access to ancestral land. The aim of my research is to provide the Nama people with information that will be useful as they negotiate with the government on how to better their access to land in order to improve their quality of life,” Kolosa explains.

“I am deeply humbled by the award. I have had the privilege of interacting with some of the alumni recently and it has given me a taste of the valuable work that the alumni do to make a change in our society and so to represent that network is an extreme honour.”